NotAVampireLvr Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 We are moving for one year. We are keeping our current house (my sister is moving in) and renting either a small house or condo in a new location. The new location will be fabulous in the spring/summer/fall for exploration but will be the pits in the winter. I am not sure if we're renting someplace furnished or not. There are many furnished houses due it being a vacation locale, but if we move into someplace furnished we'd have to move out June-September into an extended stay or something which would not be fun with three kids under 10. So, what are the essentials? What would you take with you for one year? What can you live without? We have never done the transfer thing and I don't adjust well to change at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 How far are you going? Are there major seasonal differences where you'll be? Do you need to do this as cheaply as possible or are you pretty flexible? What are your options for transporting things? We've moved for a year quite a few times and my packing list is very different if I have two suitcases per person or a U-Haul. Also, furnished and unfurnished makes a huge difference. Personally, I hate shopping and would rather not refurnish a house (and it's expensive to do that), so I usually haul our stuff around with us. One POD is plenty for all of our stuff and they're really easy to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Because this place is "the pits in winter", bring anything you have for indoor entertainment. I would probably dedicate a whole large suitcase to board games, card games and the nintendo. I would end up with another small suitcase with DD13's textbooks and crafty stuff that she keeps busy with in winter. She would have to carry her instruments, but that's do-able. Then everyone would get a suitcase each for clothes. DH's would probably need a second case for his work clothes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 New locale is within driving distance (3.5 hours) and I do have plans to come back once a month to check on the house and take care of appts and all that. We'll be renting a u-haul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 That's easy then. I can't see any reason why you'd rent a furnished place if you have to move out temporarily (unless you'd move into another furnished place- it's easy to move from one furnished place to another if you pack light). I'd just take the furniture we need, pretty much the entire kitchen, clothes, bedding, electronics, and stuff the kids want. Anything else could be picked up later during the monthly visits home if we decided we needed it. Or will your sister need your house to still be furnished for her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 My sister will need the house furnished for her, but we have two couches, an extra table, etc. The only issue I forsee is having enough beds when we do come back and stay with the kids. She had an apartment at one time so still has kitchen stuff to supplment what we take with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 My sister will need the house furnished for her, but we have two couches, an extra table, etc. The only issue I forsee is having enough beds when we do come back and stay with the kids. She had an apartment at one time so still has kitchen stuff to supplment what we take with us. Sleeping bags on the floor for those short-length visits. Yeah - 3.5 hours I would probably take the unfurnished place and make do with the "extra" furniture from my own house. Or see what I could pick up super cheap on craigslist since I would have that U-Haul to carry it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 I'm going to just ramble here. If *I* were doing this: I have place settings for 12. I'd just take 6 sets and leave the rest behind. I have a lot of kitchen duplicates. I'd take the rattier copy so it could be left behind when we are done. That way, i clean out my kitchen and furnish the one-year kitchen all at one swell foop. I'd probably take duplicate furniture and maybe some of the stuff that your sister won't need (if she is just herself, not a whole family) but leave her enough to have her friends over. I'd furnish incidentals from Goodwill/whatever. There are a lot of incidental/whatever stores around popular tourist areas. I'd take one set of sheets for each bed. One set of towels per family member and one spare set. For a year, I would leave my kitchen intact and go to Goodwill or whatever and get stuff to use for a year. Or at least mostly. KWIM? Exceptions: I would take my 2 LeCrueset pots because I live and die by them and those are rare finds on at consignment. And I would take my best knives (three of them) because I live and die by them AND because no one else treats them right. That's all that comes to mind. I did just move to a rental for a year, and then out after a year, but that was because we were selling our house and didn't know where we would land, so it's not the same situation. At any rate, I'm pretty familiar with how to minimize because moving twice is a bear. ETA: I have an incredible amount of CARP and that does make a difference in my response. The idea of moving in a UHaul is a dream nowhere near reality. Gah. To quote Han Solo: IT'S NOT MY FAULT!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 In my experience, the main thing is to do whatever you need to do in order to make it feel like your home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Wow, this is exactly my life except it was my parents that came to stay in our house, and we're four hours away! Is your husband's company paying for the move? I would definitely go with something unfinished. Moving a second time is not worth the hassle at all. Even if it means needing to buy a couple of cheap pieces of furniture, that cost would be made up by not having the expenses of moving another time. We took most of our furniture, but we left our living room couch/chair and dining table for my parents. We were planning on replacing the living room furniture soon anyway, so we bought a new set in our new location. We'll sell the old set when we move back. We bought a really cheap Ikea dining table to get us through the year. We took all of our other furniture, kitchen things, clothes and toys. We did some major decluttering before the move so that our stuff would fit in the new place. We're in about half of the square footage that we're used to. As far as beds go, we got a few nice air mattress to use while we visit the house. I'm nine months in, so I'm happy to answer any questions. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 Wow, this is exactly my life except it was my parents that came to stay in our house, and we're four hours away! Wow - this makes me feel better about it. Its interesting reading everyone's take on this as far as what to leave and take. We're probably going to have to purchase a few new things - we realize that. We do want to leave things furnished for my sister... What did you bring in the way of school supplies? I feel like we're going to be isolated for a while so I would rather bring more than less. I figure I can always get a library card, but some books we just can't do without and I think my kids will appreciate having that familiar stuff around them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 We are away from home for extended periods of time some of it in extended stay hotels and some in apartments. I only have a 4 yo and a dog not three under 10 kids. We rent a storage unit if we are in an extended stay hotel. I have about 9 crates of books a crate of puzzles, several games, a couple of plastic tubs for toys of which all but 1 are stored and I try to rotate toys. You probably wouldn't need so many books if you are going back once a month. We have computers, movies, a kindle, school stuff, a grill, a cooler, bikes, crockpot, electric skillet, rice cooker, dh has some tools, medicine box of the stuff we use most, a file box for important papers. We have yet to stay in an unfurnished apartment, I figure we wouldn't travel with furniture, because you can often find used stuff on craigslist for a reasonable price. A mattress is about the only thing we would buy new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Since you'll be going back once a month, I'd start with the bare minimum you need. Give each child a box or a bag or whatever to pack the "things they can't live without". That first month, everything will be so new and different that left behind things are unlikely to be missed. You may be surprised by what you don't need!! Above all, embrace the adventure! What can you do there that you can't do at home? Do it!! :001_smile: Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandalwood Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 We are moving for one year. We are keeping our current house (my sister is moving in) and renting either a small house or condo in a new location. The new location will be fabulous in the spring/summer/fall for exploration but will be the pits in the winter. I am not sure if we're renting someplace furnished or not. There are many furnished houses due it being a vacation locale, but if we move into someplace furnished we'd have to move out June-September into an extended stay or something which would not be fun with three kids under 10. So, what are the essentials? What would you take with you for one year? What can you live without? We have never done the transfer thing and I don't adjust well to change at all. We rented a furnished condo for 1 1/2 years while out house was up for sale when we moved to a different state. They supplied everything, literally everything. Sheets, towels, you name it --- it was there. It was managed through a realtor. I took my "good" iron (the one there was not good), a couple of cast iron skillets and some pampered chef since the cookware there was really subpar and cheap, some of my personal towels, bathcloths, clothes and personal items like blow dyer (but they had one!), etc. My son took some board games and a nintendo. We took our computers and used their tvs. That was it. We took two car loads there and probably most of the car loads were just luggage. I would not recommend an extended stay. We had to stay in a hotel for 1 1/2 months and it was a nightmare trying to homeschool in a hotel. We tried to go to the library and it was too distracting. Too few tables and people always talking. We had no problem renting a furnished unit. In fact, I would do it again. It proves you just don't need "that much stuff" to live. It was great honestly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 We are definitely planning to go through a realtor. There are a number of houses within our budget - none furnished but we have enough that we could take stuff and not leave my sister empty-handed. Homeschooling is the one thing I am really nervous about. My hope is to get a year lease... if we got stuck in an extended stay it would be for the summer months and I would probably go back and forth between "home" and new location... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Haven't read many of the other replies--short on time here. We moved overseas for a year--that stretched to almost two. We took books, both for pleasure reading and school, because we were in a non-English country. We took a few kitchen essentials--nice knives and a few spices are all that come to mind, art supplies, etc. What I wish we had taken was our Christmas stockings...they are very sentimental to me and I noticed their absence during the holidays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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